Many different methods have been used to reduce recoil in a gun. In artillery or cannon-type weapons the barrel is usually mounted to slide on a carriage and the recoil is absorbed by springs, fluid shock absorbers and the like, sometimes in combination with a muzzle mounted blast deflector. Recoil forces drive the gun mechanism to the rear in reaction to the projected being driven forward by the propellant gases. Since the gun mechanism is much heavier than the projectile, the major portion of the recoil is absorbed by accelerating the mass of the gun. Making a gun heavier has been one method of absorbing recoil but this results in a gun which is difficult to handle and transport, particularly when heavy weapons must be moved by aircraft.
It would be of great benefit to be able to effectively reduce recoil in a relatively light weight gun such as an artillery piece.